Yes, I still learned lots even if it is not what I would do. Thanks for all the advice. That is very interesting about the cutout being broodless because they just recently swarmed. It makes sense though and he might actually find he has a queen. He was going to give it a frame of eggs when he got home just in case they needed it anyway. If I lived closer to that cutout, I would love to go back today and see what is left, maybe a good size cluster.

I will assume he has quite a few bees in his box, in fact he should have a very large amount, just because a good many were placed in there.

He will most likely need to add a couple of frames of brood with eggs/very young larvae so they can make a new queen.

Think of what you all did as a trap out. You didn't get any brood but got all of the comb out with bees that will make a new queen from another hive. Their genetics won't live on but what bees were saved will be put to good use and will live out their lives being happy.

What's even better is all the comb was removed, which you can't do in a trap out, so this has worked out even better for the home owner.

Now the rub lies in how many bees were left behind and if by some chance a virgin was mated but didn't have the chance to start laying yet, with enough bees they could start another colony in that same building.

annette, if he got the queen, or they were queenless, most of the bees that were left have probably moved on. i have made follow-up calls on a couple of my distant cutouts to make sure all was well. on those, i knew i had gotten the queen. by the next day, the left over bees had pretty much gone. i suspect it was a bit like the shake-out i did the other day. the bees just moved on. there are always stragglers :-)

i wonder if he didn't take time because he figured he was probably not getting a good hive out of it? anyway....they all are different and they all are a learning experience, until you get to the JP level!

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I would love to go back and look, but I really am so darn tired from yesterdayj. I hope they have dispersed and aren't clustered there with a queen. Wow, I have an idea. One of the beeks from yesterday lives close by and I am going to ask him to take a look and see whats up. I am going to call him right now. See you later.

From what I have read in the thread, you will not like what you would see. Lots of bees, lost and clinging with no home. I captured a swarm a few weeks ago. I went back to the spot several days later and there was a tea cup ball of bees waiting.....for mama to return. Being a softee, I gathered them and reuninted them with the rest of the swarm in their new home.

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This is why I finish my removals come late evening/dark. If I have to leave the job before dark, I will leave the hive behind with the queen caged and pick it up another time.This way you greatly reduce the number of bees that are left behind.

Swarms are about timing and you have to get them when you can, there are usually anywhere from a few to as many as 20 bees that you routinely cannot take with you, the stubborn ones, once you leave a swarm call.

That colony lives on however and that is the main focus in capturing and relocating a swarm.

OK so I contacted the beekeeper who lives close by and he wants to help. He is a newbee and will require some help with this. I told him to go back this evening with a box and see if there is a large cluster still hanging from the wall. I told him to sweep the cluster into a box and then just wait around until dark to see if all the bees are going into the box.

If there is a virgin queen or a queen, then I guess all will be well and he can take the box home.

What if he finds a whole bunch of little clusters all over??? (likely scenario) Should I tell him to sweep as many bees as possible into a box and then wait until dark and go home with as many bees as possible. Perhaps he can just dump them in front of his other new packages and hopefully they will find homes?? I know he doesn't have any combs of brood yet as he just started his packages on Friday.

He also wants to put that wall back together and seal it up with some caulking. I guess he can do that if there aren't any bees still clinging to the walls. I hope he doesn't find a real mess out there tonight.

Any suggestions??? I expect him to call me this evening when he gets out there.

He will possibly find no bees at all or a cluster of bees in one spot. He should bring a piece of old comb with him to place in the box, a little dab of lemon grass would be nice also but not really necessary.

If for some reason a virgin made it and there are a bunch of bees, then he can put the bees in the box with a flap cut out like I do on swarms and they should march in.

Have him spray the cluster with sugar water 1/1 first if there is a cluster so they can't fly and the entire process will be a breeze.

Someone at some point needs to close up the wall and caulk and seal openings to bee proof the void space.

OK he said he would bring some pieces of their own comb that we took out last night and would spray the bees with the sugar syrup. I told him about the boxes you use and he is going to bring one that he has. (see I am learning from you JP and it has all sunk in)

He was going to put the wall back together and caulk it tonight if he can get all the bees out. This guy has the makings to be a wonderful beekeeper. His heart is totally there and he just loves it.

I will let you know how it goes for him. Hopefully you will be here on the forum tonight in case I need to give this guy some help. Soon as I hear from him, I will get onto the forum and post what is happening. There really should not be any surprises, right??

Just received a call from the beekeeper who was going to go tonight and apparently he called the homeowner to get permission to visit that shed tonight just one more time. The homeowner said no. He felt that we did all we could do yesterday and he would seal up the shed himself. I think because it is a rental property he doesn't want us to keep bothering the renters.

Apparently he spoke to the main beekeeper (named Keith) who took the bees yesterday and was told he had the queen so there should not be any more problems with bees in the shed. But when Keith left yesterday he was pretty sure he did not have a queen. So at this point I do not know what is really happening, but I do know we cannot check out that shed anymore no matter what the truth is.

Just have to drop it now, although I plan on calling that beekeeper Keith to find out if he really got the queen.

after i did my first cutout, i spent a great deal of time chewing over what i did wrong and what i could have done better. even dreamed about it that night. to make matters worse, i didn't save the hive. the whole thing was a bummer. the good thing was that i learned a lot, and after that one, the next few were a piece of cake.

can't remember what my point was when i started this....i am getting old.....guess it was just that you take what you can from the experience and not worry about it after that. i have a feeling that when you do your own, it will be done well.

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.....The greatest changes occur in their country without their cooperation. They are not even aware of precisely what has taken place. They suspect it; they have heard of the event by chance. More than that, they are unconcerned with the fortunes of their village, the safety of their streets, the fate of their church and its vestry. They think that such things have nothing to do with them, that they belong to a powerful stranger called “the government.” They enjoy these goods as tenants, without a sense of ownership, and never give a thought to how they might be improved.....